Fracking comments delivered to the Delaware River Basin CommissionEnvironmentalists delivered over 36,000 public comments to the Delaware River Basin Commission in Ewing on Thursday, April 14, 2011, opposing natural gas drilling near the Delaware River. The comments come from residents of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware who oppose "fracking," a technique in which water, sand and toxic chemicals are injected to break up shale and release natural gas. Video by Martin Griff / The Times of Trenton

EWING — Representatives from more than a dozen environmental organizations across four states gathered on the steps of the Delaware River Basin Commission headquarters Thursday to submit more than 35,000 public comments on natural gas drilling regulations the agency is considering.

That was in addition to more than 7,600 comments that have been submitted online, said Clarke Rupert, a spokesman for the agency.

“This is the largest number of comments at least in terms of the 12 years that I’ve worked here,” he said.

The issue that has drawn all the attention concerns rules the agency proposed in December aimed at governing natural gas drilling within the boundaries of the Delaware River Basin.

A gas-rich rock formation thousands of feet underground, the Marcellus Shale, lies under about 40 percent of the basin in New York and northeast Pennsylvania, and companies have already expressed interest in drilling the region.

To access the shale, companies employ a controversial technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in which millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are injected into the well at high pressure to crack the rock and release the gas.

A flurry of drilling activity has already occurred in western Pennsylvania, where critics argue that fracking wastewater, which is often treated and returned to waterways, is causing serious environmental damage.

The groups gathered in Ewing yesterday warned that, if drilling in the basin moves forward, residents up and down the Delaware can expect serious consequences.

“The rush to drill Marcellus Shale is a false bonanza. It’s a boom for natural gas drillers who want to drill first and ask questions later, and it’s a bust for the rest of us,” said Doug O’Malley of Environment New Jersey. “Hydrofracking is the biggest risk to face the Delaware in its history, and New Jersey’s residents have everything to lose.”

Several energy companies had applied for permits to set up shop in the basin and a handful had already drilled wells last summer when the DRBC instituted a moratorium on further activity until regulations could be established.

The DRBC was created to bring together the efforts of federal and state agencies across the region to protect the basin’s water resources.

The commission comprises the governors of all four member states — Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware — as well as representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“These rules are premature and too narrow to protect the resources of the basin,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

Rupert said the DRBC has hired an outside company, EA Engineering Science and Technology Inc., to help read all the comments it has received.

The public comment period ends today.

The earliest the commission could take action on the proposed regulations would be the fall, he said.

Representatives from the groups gathered in Ewing yesterday said they hoped the sheer volume of comments would be enough to send a message.